Biologists now engineer transgenic crop varieties that offer farmers a new tool for effectively managing pests. Concern over pest resistance, however, has prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to require resistance management plans. This paper develops an economic model of pest management...

Genetically engineered Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn provides farmers with a new tool for controlling the European corn borer (ECB). The high efficacy and potential rapid adoption of Bt corn has raised concerns that the ECB will develop resistance to Bt. The Environmental Protection Agency...

The EPA has imposed mandatory refuge requirements for Bt crops to prolong the efficacy of Bt. Growers have no economic incentive to plant the required refuge because refuge crops are on average less productive and more risky. This paper evaluates refuge insurance—insurance thatpays indemnities...

The EPA has imposed mandatory refuge requirements for Bt crops to prolong the efficacy of Bt. Growers have no economic incentive to plant the required refuge because refuge crops are on average less productive and more risky. This paper evaluates refuge insurance--insurance that pays indemnities...

The EPA has imposed mandatory refuge requirements for Bt crops to prolong the efficacy of Bt. Growers have no economic incentive to plant the required refuge because refuge crops are on average less productive and more risky. This paper evaluates refuge insurance--insurance that pays indemnities...

We compare subsidies and fines to voluntary and mandatory refuge insurance (insurance for pest damage on Bt corn refuge) as mechanisms for securing grower compliance with EPA refuge mandates. A conceptual model partially ranks mechanisms. We empirically quantify tradeoffs between mechanisms...

Subsidies and fines are compared to voluntary and mandatory refuge insurance (insurance for pest damage on Bt corn refuge) as mechanisms for securing grower compliance with EPA refuge mandates. A conceptual model partially ranks mechanisms. Tradeoffs between mechanisms using grower welfare,...

Transgenic crops offer farmers a new and effective pest control option. However, the wide spread adoption of these crops could lead to a resistant pest population. This paper demonstrates how a pest refuge can be used to maximise the value of farm income in a dynamic model with genetic foundations.

We develop a dynamic bioeconomic model of temporally optimal dynamic refuge recommendations for resistance management when a backstop technology arrives at a known date. The impact of the characteristics of the backstop on the use of the current technology, and the difference between static and...